It has been all good news for the Philadelphia Phillies early in the season, that was until their star shortstop strained his calf. Rollins injured his calf in the Phillies win over the Houston Astros on Sunday and missed Monday’s game against the Washington Nationals. The injury seems to be more than just a minor strain and is listed as a grade 2 strain. Rollins will be undergoing an MRI today, but it is very likely that he will have a stint on the DL. Rollins was off to a great start this season with 9 hits, 3 RBIs, 1 HR, 7 walks, and 2 steals, giving him a .391 BA and a .516 OBP in six games. The Phillies still have a very strong lineup without Rollins, but the red-hot Placido Palanco (.484 BA, 10 RBIs) probably won’t be getting as many good pitches to hit without the luxury of hitting behind Rollins. Hopefully Rollins can bounce back quickly from this calf injury, but expect him to be out a little while.

I know that Halladay has only faced the Astros & Nationals so far this season but he has been dominating. In his first two starts for the Phillies, Halladay is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He already has a complete game for the Phillies and he has only given up 13 hits and walked 2 batters in 16 innings while whiffing 17 batters. Halladay is my pick for the Cy Young Award this season because he will love having the Phillies lineup backing him up in 2010. He will also like not having to face DHs in 2010 and he is swinging a good bat himself as he is 2 for 7 (.286 avg, .571 OPS) with 1 RBI. The Phillies are going to be really hard to beat in any game that Halladay starts in 2010.

Ryan Howard is absolutely pounding the baseball so far this season for the Phillies. In his first 6 games of the year, Howard is 10 for 28 (.357 avg, 1.257 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. The scariest thing for opposing teams is that Howard has only whiffed 4 times so far this year. Howard will likely make a strong run at the MVP of the N.L. as long as he can stay healthy because he is going to knock in a ton of runs in 2010.

The Phillies are 5-1 on the season as they are outscoring their opponents 43-18! They are in first place in the N.L. East, 1 game ahead of the Marlins. The Phillies play three games at home against the Nationals this week starting today and then the Marlins come in for a visit this weekend for 3 games. The Phillies would love to get some distance between them and both the Marlins and the Braves this week.

The Phillies knew when the put Placido Polanco second in the batting order that he was going to go off. Hitting behind Rollins and in front of Chase Utley guarantees that he will see a lot of good pitches to hit. He is 11 of 19 (.579 avg, 1.466 OPS) with 7 runs, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. If Polanco can stay healthy this season I see him setting career highs in runs scored, homers and RBIs in 2010.

The Phillies are now 3-1 on the season as they have outscored their opponents 32-11 so far. The Phillies knew the offense was going to be good and they are averaging 8.0 runs per game. But the reason for the ease of victory has been the pitching staff which has been outstanding as the Phillies are sporting a 2.57 ERA so far this season. The bullpen really has the Phillies smiling so far as it’s a rag tag bunch. The pen is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP so far this season and the Phillies have to be pleased with that. The Phillies are clicking on all cylinders right now so there is no reason to think they won’t keep beating teams up.

The Phillies have claimed 35-year old righty starter/reliever Nelson Figueroa off waivers from the Mets. Figueroa pitched in 16 games (10 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 3-8 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He has now pitched in 106 games (49 starts) in his major league career and he is 13-28 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Figueroa will be a asset to the Phillies as a long reliever/spot starter as they have a need for one of those right now.

The Phillies were very aggressive over the winter swapping out Cliff Lee for Roy Halladay. I fully expect Halladay to win 21-25 games this season and the Cy Young Award. The only other big change was bringing in Placido Polanco to start at 3B and let Pedro Feliz walk (he signed with the Astros). I like that move for the Phillies too. No team in the N.L. can match offensive firepower with the Phillies as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez batter opposing pitchers. Even with Joe Blanton starting the year on the D.L. the Phillies still have a solid rotation with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. But the bullpen scares me quite a bit especially with Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero starting the year on the D.L. I think Ryan Madson will do a good job closing games but the rest of the relievers will need to step up. I like the Phillies to win the N.L. East in 2010 and I think they will win more than 92.5 games in 2010. Take the over.

The Phillies have inked 33-year old starter/reliever Josh Fogg to a minor league deal. Fogg pitched in 24 games (1 start) for the Rockies last season and he was 0-2 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has now pitched in 243 games (194 starts) in his 9-year major league career and he is 62-69 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. With all of the recent injuries on the pitching staff I wouldn’t be surprised if Fogg wins a spot in the bullpen.

The Phillies have signed 27-year old righty starter/reliever Ty Taubenheim to a minor league deal. Taubenheim pitched in 26 games (19 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 7-9 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Pirates. Taubenheim has pitched in 14 games (9 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He will likely start the season in AAA and get a call if the need arises for the Phillies.